5G isn't the future anymore - it's here now. Ericsson estimates that 2 billion people worldwide have access to some type of 5G network (whether the standard or millimeter-wave varieties). With that, operators are still in the preparation phase, getting ready to provide the services to industry and enterprises, especially automated and smart manufacturing facilities, which are eagerly awaiting for more options and features like on-prem (private) networks and network slicing services.
The technology to accomplish this - and move Industry 4.0 to the next level - exists right now or will be available soon, at least from the perspectives of MNOs and system integrators. But implementing that technology is another story; MNOs need to sort out some thorny issues before they will be able to fully roll out their advanced 5G enterprise solutions. The good news is that 2022 is set to be the year of that sorting; MNOs will coalesce their technologies and develop the practical tools they need to provide solid offerings to their enterprise customers. Here are some of the issues service providers will be dealing in 2022, as they prepare for full embracing the groundbreaking technology:
#1: Operators Will Offer Slicing and 5G SA for Select Customers
One of the important trends in the coming year will be the maturing of technologies that will enable operators to provide advanced services for their top customers - with network slicing based on standalone 5G networks among the most important (and in-demand) services. While those technologies are indeed ready for prime time, operators need to learn to work with them before a major rollout - and 2022 will be the year operators offer these services to lighthouse customers.
Those tools - management systems for resources and legacy networks, advanced virtualization to enable premium services, standalone 5G, and more - will join with AI, advanced cloud systems, innovations in automation and robotics, creating fertile ground for the coalescing of advanced ecosystems in 2022; by mid-decade, 5G will enable industry and enterprise to do things they have only dreamed of until now.
#2: Open RAN and Virtualization: Not Quite Open, Not Just Yet
O-RAN is one of the most highly touted advancements of the 5G era; open software systems that run on commodity off-the-shelf hardware (COTS) and enable multi-vendor programmable networks. Most importantly, the O-RAN revolution will enable customers to easily mix equipment vendors, taking advantage of the best prices and best services for ideal ROI.
But for that to happen, O-RAN needs a thriving ecosystem and deployment - and while that's likely to happen in the future, that O-RAN future lies beyond 2022. Because 5G network management and deployment is a complicated affair - due in part to the legacy issues - management again becomes a crucial piece of the puzzle, and the management tools are likely to be developed or acquired by the legacy operators. Many of them plan to support O-RAN, but as specific operators develop their own open software systems, compatibility issues may arise. While customers will indeed have the opportunity to develop their own applications, those applications will likely be restricted to their operator's ecosystem, with operators relying on a mix of 'branded” O-RAN and virtualization to deliver services.
#3: Management in focus
4G networks did not spell the end for 3G, and there are still active 2G networks out there - so as operators roll out 5G networks, they will have to integrate them with existing networks. Not only that; operators will have to contend with open software systems (notably O-RAN) that can run on 5G equipment. Managing these systems and ensuring that even legacy equipment can take advantage of some degree of advanced services is going to be crucial to industry and enterprise customers - who are unlikely to sign SLAs if by doing so they are going to have to make a major capital investment in new equipment in one fell swoop.
To accomplish this, operators are going to have to develop - or acquire - advanced management systems that will enable devices, networks, and systems to work together properly. A plethora of equipment, a large variety of deployment possibilities, the variety of connections and equipment that must be managed, and the requirements of private network customers (such as managing shifts in demand) will require systems that can dynamically redeploy assets and resources, as well as anticipate needs in advance in order to ensure that the resources needed are available when called upon. Developing this management capability is going to be among the most important issues for operators in 2022.
#4: Private networks begin to sprout
On-prem private networks are ready to roll - although we are unlikely to see large-scale deployments in 2022. This is - again - because of management and integration issues, and the fact that a great deal of work needs to go into the on-prem networks that large enterprise customers (i.e. premium customers) are interested in. Premium customers are willing to pay premium prices, but only if they get premium services - and operators and system integrators have more work to do before they can offer those services.
Such customers would likely be seeking out a fully private network - one with private infrastructure. But implementing those services at scale is still likely to be a challenge for operators, who at the current stage will mainly be able to offer private services to enterprise customers on public networks. Look for operators to begin implementing showcase on-prem networks with their biggest and best customers, as they develop methods to monetize their technology and provide industry and enterprise with services they have been clamoring for. On-prem networks are a major component of Industry 4.0 and an important benefit of the 5G ecosystem - and likely a significant moneymaker for operators and system integrators - so they will be putting as many resources as necessary into making them happen.
The technology that will fuel Industry 4.0 has been under development for some time now - and it's now poised to begin taking its first steps out in the real world. In this bridge year, operators – as well as the rest of the players who will make Industry 4.0 a reality - will coalesce technologies, capabilities, and efforts in order to bring their top customers the services they are seeking. Digital enterprise is just as important to operators as it is to business – and 2022 is the year that digital enterprise will get the wings it needs to take off.
